John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his comments and I take his point on positivity not negativity regarding the product announced yesterday. The case I have been making to officials in the past few weeks revolves in large part around the future of Waterford Airport. I spent the last four years bending the ears of officials and politicians with regard to the future of Waterford Airport and continuing its funding until we resecured the London air route. That worked. We managed to keep the funding going long enough for the board to find an airline. We had a couple of close shaves, but we now have a carrier and bookings are very good according to the airport managers I met last week. Over the years, the State has invested tens of millions of euro into the airport through operational and capital funding. Improvements were made to the road to the airport which alone cost in the region of €10 million. It is now critical for the Government to consider the airport's future and not simply to say "Job done". It must now start to connect projects like the Wild Atlantic Way with the airport, which is a piece of infrastructure in which the State has invested heavily and which is critical to our regional economic recovery.

For years, the Government has been repeating that Waterford Airport must become self-sustaining. Extending the Wild Atlantic Way to the east of Waterford is how that can be helped to happen.

I will repeat what I said. We want the opportunity to make this presentation, notwithstanding everything announced yesterday, and hope we will be given it.

See this speech in context